I've always been a gift buyer not a giftcard buyer until this past year and it was well received. Maybe in some cases you can assume they don't know the person well enough but the gift cards I bought were for my sons who are at the age where they are hard to buy for. Gift cards fit the bill. It's not that I don't know them...it's that I do know them very well and they love gift cards.

For my youngest (college student) I bought Starbucks and Panara Bread gift cards for his birthday. Both are right near his college. He loves to go to Panara Bread with his laptop spending hours with a cup of coffee working. So he loved the thoughtful gift of a card at these two places which are side by side btw. Now instead of buying just a coffee, he can get something more expensive and not worry about his budget.

My other son turned 25 this year. So I went out and bought a variety of gift cards at $25 each in celebration of this birthday number. I tried to find places for him to eat at....one was for Subway, another for Burger King. I also got him a Walmart and a JCPenny card. He spent all of them but JcPenney so I know next time not to go there, (he hates to buy clothes).

Not only is this easier for me with the shipping and all I actually think they enjoy it better. It's a first for me but one I think I'm going to keep. For Christmas two of the boys are getting gifts galore but the third one is hard to buy for and I think I'm going to wrap gift cards individually in large boxes for him. He's flying and space is limited so it's much easier for him to lug cards home than boxes of gifts.

Every year for the last few years I have bought my mother gift cards that correspond with her birthday number as well. When I went in to the store this year asking for a gift card for $67 the clerk asked me why and when I told her it was my mom's age, she thought it was a cool idea. Mom loves it. So every year from now on that's what Mom is going to get, but at a different store each year. So she'll never know what she's going to get exactly. I think next year it will be a Barnes and Noble or a Border's Bookstore......hmmmmm or maybe it will be for gas the way gas prices are going up or maybe her being 68 I can get two $34 cards at each place.

That's how I've felt about it, too. I can see why people like gift cards, but I'd much prefer something that the person has gone to effort to get me. It shows me that they care, and not that they felt obligated to get me something.

Maybe I'm being obtuse, but that's how I see it.

There is a big difference between gift buying for a spouse and gift-giving for the myriad of teachers, instructors, and acquaintances in yours and your childrens' lives.

I also think what KFC describes is pretty appropriate. It's really a case-by-case thing. A college kid would probably appreciate gift cards to the food places he likes to visit more than some lame sweater or shaving kit or whatever. And gift cards CAN show that you know and appreciate the person's interests if the gift card(s) reflect places where the recipient actually likes to shop/eat/whatever and if the amount is sufficient to actually enjoy something there (a $10 gift card to a gaming store isn't going to benefit the recipient much, but $20 at Starbucks will buy a nice snack for the recipient and a friend).

I have a curious question for all you ladies in here. Would it be OK if I just gave my wife a gift card from a florist, from a candy store and from a jewelry shop so she can pick her own flowers, her own chocolates and her own jewelry when ever she has time to do it, or would it be best if I bought what I believe is her favorite flowers, a nice box of chocolates and a diamond ring or diamond bracelet? Should I use the dinner gift cards I had stored to take her out on a romantic valentines dinner?

While I think gift cards can be very well received I think when it comes to your spouse it's a whole nuther thing. While I have no problem giving gift cards out to my sons and mother I would have a hard time doing that for my husband. I wouldn't even think of giving him a gift card. On a day to day basis you should be so in tune with your spouse that it's so easy to pick up a gift for her/him knowing she/he is going to love it. It's not quite as easy for those living outside the home, be it a relative or a friend.

I know for instance my husband needs a grill light so he can grill outside at night. He hooked up a spot light that was ok temporarily but it's not going to suffice and the one I bought him for Christmas is made expressly for a grill. He's going to love it.

I have a feeling the gift I bought for my son may even be bought by his fiancee so that's the trouble you can get into buying outside the home.

It really is a case-by-case thing. The more you know someone, the more you should buy them a real gift. The more shipping is going to cost, the more likely you should buy a gift card. If you don't know your spouse well enough to get him/her more than a gift card, you've got more problems than just Christmas. But, you know what? My wife would rather get a gift card to a clothing store than have me go in a buy something for her. Or we could go shopping together (gag). The experience of shopping is what she wants to do, and she wants to come away with the clothes that fit her right and that she wants to wear.

It's funny how one does not see al angles of something till someone points them out to you. You all make good points on when a gift card is the right choice. I will have accept that gift cards are gifts as well, but I will stick to it's better to give a gift than a gift card in situations where distance is not the issue. Even a person who is not well known can have a nice gift if one just makes a small effort to find out what would be nice to give them or even give one of those universal gifts. I'm sure the average man wouldn't mind getting a nice Gillette shaving kit with the nice bag to carry it. I love them things.

Thanks for the post. This is great stuff.

Gift cards are great for stores. They have your money, so they can invest it. There is a chance that it will never be cashed in. I'm guessing the statistics on that are out there, but a quick Google search turned up 10-15%. That's huge, especially in low margin stores.

Yes, it's good to discuss these things. Tell you what...I'll ask my kids (all boys in their 20's) and ask their preference and get back to you. I think it's an interesting discussion.

Here's another story.

We got a $500 gift card to Dicks last December and we still have it. Haven't spent a dime. It was given to us by our church as a gift because we are sports minded or athletic people. But we never go to Dicks and we find it expensive for the most part. In fact Dicks isn't very accessible to us. Now if it were to Home Depot, it would have been spent already.

Here in Florida, the closest Dicks is an hour and a half away, as far as we know, and we do plan on taking a trip to buy tennis racquets and bike accessories now that we're here and can use them. It will be an effort tho to spend that much money in a store like Dicks.

See this is where you have to be careful. What if you lose the card? Also some cards expire after a year or two. You had better get that out and check the fine print. Some also hit you with service charges or maintenance fees after a certain amount of time.

So far we haven't had any trouble with expired gift cards. Most of the cards we have received have been dinner ones like Applebees (get lots of them)and since we are not very good go out to dinner people, sometimes it's a year or more before we use them.

We actually thought we did lose the Dicks card for a while. Couldn't find it for a while and then we eventually did. That wasn't fun. It was in my husband'd top drawer. So we put it in a safe place. Since we got it last Christmas we should think about using it soon tho.



this is my husband's sentiments exactly. I see husbands out shopping with their wives all the time, but my husband hates to shop. I mean with a passion. He'd rather have brain surgery than go to a department store. I'm serious.

but I've been given gift cards on many occasions to places like Red Lobster or the Olive Garden; places I'm usually too cheap to spring for, but where I can enjoy an occasional NICE dinner courtesy of a thoughtful friend.

I was going to say that Gift cards are a lousy gift (give a check instead) - until I read Gideon's reply.  Yes!  For the special ones, it means you have to treat yourself (as money or a Wal Mart one can just be used for every day purchases).  So, yes, some gift cards are gifts and good ones too!

What's better - getting a gift card and losing it, or getting a gift of the same value you really hate and WANT to lose but can't because it was a gift?

The amount of thought put into a gift is the big deal - whether that gift ends up as a thoughtful gift card or a thoughtful other gift doesn't matter. It's the thought that counts. The ability to get someone a gift-card without thinking at all is the problem with them.

If you give me a gift card for a book shop, I'm over the moon. It shows the person has thought about my love of reading but leaves the choice of book to me. If you gave me a Mitch Albom or Stephen Covey book as a book gift I'd throw them in the trash. Gift vouchers are great and very thoughtful gifts.

I'm coming back after asking my son about his preference of receiving either a gift or a gift card. He said he'd rather receive a gift card. I asked a friend when we were perusing the books at Barnes & Nobel and she said "get me a gift card here anytime and I'd love it."

I told my husband he could get me a gift card at IZOD if he wanted and I'd love that.

I love to read as well and would love a gift certificate to a Borders or Barnes & Nobel. I have received large coffee table books before that I didn't have an ounce of desire to read. One time I got a large coffee table book for a Christmas gift that had pictures of food in it. What the heck? Did nothing for me. I found someone to give it to.